After spotting their first icebergs on Tuesday afternoon, the crew of the maxi-cat Orange II have turned northeastwards to stay on the northern edge of the dangerous ice zone.

'Sailing on a tightrope. We have to avoid the calms on our left and the ice on our right,' Bruno PEYRON admitted during his radio link-up. At 04.00 (GMT) this morning, Bruno PEYRON and his men were passing seven miles off Marion Island, a small volcanic island 19km long and 12 km wide, whose highest crater reaches 1230 m. Swept by the strong winds in the Roaring Forties, the island, which belongs to South Africa, is populated by families of penguins, petrels, albatrosses, cormorants and other species specific to these latitudes.

However, the crew hardly had the time to study the island through the early morning drizzle. Just after passing this island, Orange II should be gybing again towards the north east to get out of this inhospitable area and get in position for the next low. After being slowed down a little late yesterday afternoon, the maxi-cat has picked up speed again. The crazy pace means that they are extremely busy with tiring manoeuvres and have to be particularly cautious.

Bruno PEYRON said this morning, 'We're in the usual series of low-pressure areas. We're between two lows, in a narrow zone, where we have to avoid the calms on the left, which are caused by a ridge of high pressure, which is building, and the ice on the right. We're waiting for the next low and trying to get in the best latitude. You have to be able to slow down sometimes to accelerate away later, so for the moment, this is offering some relief to the boat and the crew. You can see the tiredness. So you need to be sensible about that and adjust the boat accordingly. We're not far from the Fifties South. This is the sort of place you don't want to hang around in. It's a hostile universe, where everything is grey, mist and drizzle, and even the sea is grey too. Because of the ice, we're going to have to prolong the route somewhat by heading a bit further north. The seas coming on the beam are not favourable to high speeds, but if we manage 450 miles, that will be a good average. We will be able to step up the speed later...'

Tom Burton (AUS) and Alison Young (GBR) hit the right note in the Laser and Laser Radial at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as they took out the top honours and qualification spots to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final.

It was double Australian gold in the Paralympic classes. Matt Bugg (AUS) came out on top in the 2.4mR whilst London 2012 Paralympic SKUD18 gold medallists Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS) were triumphant in the two person keelboat.

Lithuania's Juozas Bernotas came out on top in the Men's RS:X whilst Russia's Stefania Elfutina was triumphant in the Women's RS:X. Both sailors claim the first Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final spots whilst Jock Calvert (AUS) and Joanna Sterling (AUS) picked up the Oceanic spots for the Emirati finale.

There was some fast paced action in the 49er and 49erFX Medal Races at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as Nathan Outteridge & Iain Jensen (AUS) and Maia & Ragna Agerup (NOR) claimed the honours and Abu Dhabi final spots.

A tight group of five young Papua New Guinean (PNG) Laser sailors are stepping up their 2015 Pacific Games competition program using this week's ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne. PNG is one of 33 countries represented at the important Oceanic event, the largest Olympic sailing regatta in the southern hemisphere.

Melbourne, Australia will host the final Rio 2016 Paralympic Games qualification regatta in 2015. With just under one year until the event, the 2015 IFDS Worlds was launched at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne kick starts the journey to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with qualification spots and top ranking points available in the Australian city.

Four boats in the Volvo Ocean Race celebrated rounding the venerated landmark of Cape Horn on Monday, a pleasure cruelly denied Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) after the Chinese boat's mast was broken early in a dramatic day on Leg 5.

The wind played dirty tricks all day in Palma on the sailors and race committees who had to juggle with big shifts and different pressure. From 4 to 20 knots, and reaching 40 in some gusts, the wind turned around the bay playing with everybody's nerves.

Ghosting across the line in the inky blackness of a Mediterranean spring night, finally slicing through the finish line set on the very waters where some 40 odd years ago he cut his teeth as a young, aspiring sailor harbouring great dreams, at 01:47:00hrs local time Guillermo Altadill and his talented, ever reliable Chilean co-skipper Jose Muñoz secured second placed in this third edition of the Barcelona World Race, the round the world race for two crew which left the Catalan capital on December 31st 2014.

Algoa Bay brought lighter conditions on Sunday, and after a postponement waiting for the wind to settle, the race got underway in 7 knots of breeze from the south-east. Ted Conrads and Brian Haines from the USA were the pathfinders, and opened up the gate for the fleet as they sailed out to the right-hand side of the course.